A research team at the Department of Chemistry (Prof. Ji Man KIM) successfully demonstrated a durable nanostructure of ordered mesoporous Tin-based intermetallic materials, enabling control of the volume changes during the chargedischarge process. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are a key-enabling technology for addressing the power and energy demands of electric vehicles and stationary electrical storage for renewable energy as well as mobile electronics. Tin has been considered as an attractive anode for LIBs due to the appropriate working potential (0.5 V vs. Li/Li+) and high theoretical capacity (993 mAh g-1). However, structural deterioration originated from severe volume variation during the lithiation– delithiation process is one of the most well-known drawbacks which causes a failure of cycle stability. At the research, the team developed the preparation of highly ordered mesoporous CoSn intermetallic anodes which represent superior electrochemical performance, by combining the advantages of intermetallic framework and nanoporous structure.
Furthermore, they unveiled the nanostructural changes during the battery operation by in operando SAXS investigation, so that they can provide more details on volume changes of the electrode materials. Most promising is that the presence of Co as an electrochemically inactive buffer element leads to the durable nanostructure upon prolonged cycling. These findings should give valuable guidance for designing innovative nanostructured materials. The details of the research can be found in the scientific journal Advanced Functional Materials under the title of “Discovering Dual-Buffer Effects on Lithium Storage: Durable Nanostructure of Ordered Mesoporous Co-Sn Intermetallic Electrode.”